24 January 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
The Lodge is a residential care home that is registered to provide support to 30 people aged 65 and over and people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection, 16 people were using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider, new management team and staff had worked hard to make improvements to the service in a short space of time. We received positive feedback regarding the management team and their leadership of the service. There was a kind and caring culture at the service which was supported by staff who were passionate about caring for people. Governance systems had been implemented which had helped identify shortfalls which were addressed in a timely manner.
Fire safety issues had been addressed. People were supported by knowledgeable and skilled staff who understood and effectively managed risks to people’s safety and well-being. People were kept safe from abuse and concerns were appropriately reported.
People’s medicines had been administered safely. However, some records and medicine protocols needed improving and action was taken during the inspection. Accidents and incidents were monitored, reviewed and used positively to support learning. The service was clean and tidy and current government guidance was being followed.
Positive working relationships had been established with other professionals which had helped ensure people received the referrals and professional support they needed.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 26 August 2022).
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations. However, the service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last 8 consecutive inspections.
Why we inspected
This focused inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions of safe and well led which contain those requirements. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for the service has remained requires improvement. However, we found improvements had been made to the safety, governance systems and oversight of the service. Please see the safe and well led sections of this full report.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Recommendations
We have made a recommendation about quality assurance systems.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.